We noticed a series of testing submissions in VirusTotal that apparently came from the same group of malware developers in Moldova, at least based on the filenames and the submissions’ source. It appears they are working on a new malware that — based on how they were coded — is most likely intended to spread through spam emails embedded with malicious attachments.

The downloader malware’s payload is what makes it notable. It delivers a version of the Revisit remote administration tool, which is used to hijack the infected system. More importantly, it also delivers a malicious extension that could serve as a backdoor, stealing information keyed in on browsers.

We look into the latest tools and techniques used by Confucius, as the threat actor seems to have a new modus operandi, setting up two new websites and new payloads with which to compromise its targets.

We recently found similar Mirai-like scanning activity from Mexico with some being done via the exploitation of CVE-2018-10561 and CVE-2018-10562, two vulnerabilities that are specific to Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON)-based home routers.

In May 2017, one of the biggest facilitators of cybercrime, Scan4You, went offline after the two main suspects, Ruslans Bondars and Jurijs Martisevs, were arrested in Latvia and extradited to the U.S. by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In May 2018, the case against the Scan4You’s operators concluded in a Virginia federal courtroom.

The Trend Micro Forward-Looking Threat Research (FTR) team started to look into Scan4You’s operations in 2012, and have been in close contact with FBI investigators assigned to the case since 2014. Our research on Scan4You spanned more than five years, passing some of our findings to the FBI until the service went offline.

We observed a large spike in the number of devices scanning the internet for port 7001/TCP since April 27, 2018. Our analysis found that it’s increased activity was caused by cybercriminals engaging in cryptomining via exploiting CVE-2017-10271. The flaw is a patched Oracle WebLogic WLS-WSAT vulnerability that can allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on unpatched servers. This marks the second time attackers abused CVE-2017-10271 for cryptomining purposes this year. In February, the vulnerability was exploited to deliver 64-bit and 32-bit variants of an XMRig Monero miner.

Security Predictions for 2018

Attackers are banking on network vulnerabilities and inherent weaknesses to facilitate massive malware attacks, IoT hacks, and operational disruptions. The ever-shifting threats and increasingly expanding attack surface will challenge users and enterprises to catch up with their security.Read our security predictions for 2018.

Business Process Compromise

Attackers are starting to invest in long-term operations that target specific processes enterprises rely on. They scout for vulnerable practices, susceptible systems and operational loopholes that they can leverage or abuse. To learn more,
read our Security 101: Business Process Compromise.